The Detroit Pistons are having one of those dreams where they're stuck in a hole and they couldn't get out — except they're living it as their reality. After deciding to start from scratch following the 2019-20 season, the Pistons have been mired in a seemingly unending rebuilding loop despite drafting a well-regarded talent in point guard Cade Cunningham. Last season, the Pistons won just 14 games — their worst win tally in the history of the franchise.
All the Pistons got to show for it was the fifth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, and they used it to draft Ron Holland. Holland clearly has some scoring potential, and his athleticism as a 6'8 forward caught scouts' attention. But the Pistons need more shooting around Cunningham, not less of it, and Holland isn't exactly known for spacing the floor. The selection of Holland even made one NBA insider feel bad for Cunningham amid the Pistons' ongoing quest to figure out the mess they're in.
“I feel bad for Cade Cunningham. They've been rebuilding for years even though they never planned on it, and this pick signals they might need to blow up the roster and start over again. I just don't see how [Holland] plays with Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and all their other young guys. That situation is a mess. Even when Holland was scoring in Vegas, it was so ugly to watch,” one NBA insider who voted on the latest ESPN poll said.
Drafting Ron Holland was a bet on the 19-year-old forward's talent. That much is clear. But the Pistons are hoping that he figures out how to flourish in a Cunningham-led offense, especially with the 22-year-old guard under contract until the 2029-30 season.
Is the NBA insider blowing the Pistons' situation out of proportion?
Indeed, the on-court fit between Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, and Jalen Duren, the team's five most important young players, is questionable. Among that quintet, no one shot better than 35.5 percent from deep last season. Thompson shot a ghastly 18.6 percent from three in his rookie year, Holland made just 23.9 percent of his triples last year with G-League Ignite, and Duren doesn't shoot threes at all.
It's not quite clear how the Pistons will make those pieces fit the puzzle that they're building. Nonetheless, they added a few players who could shoot during this offseason period in Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley, not to mention the fact that they brought Simone Fontecchio back as well.
The next step for the Pistons is to achieve respectability, and with three capable shooters helping Cade Cunningham out, the situation in Detroit may not be as dire as it is portrayed.
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